Rudy: "We began our journey in ancient China and pretty soon
we're going to hear about traveling in outer space. But first,
another mix of the old and new. Egypt is currently staging a
high-tech light show to revive the glory of the 3,000 year-old temple
of Ramses the second at Abu Simbel. Joining us with details is
Michelle Kholos, with this week's Culture Watch. Hi Michelle."

Michelle: "Hi Rudy. You're right. This really is a marriage of old
and new. We're talking about a nightly show using computer simulation
to set the four giant statues on the front of Ramses' temple on fire."

Rudy: "Not for real..."

Michelle: "Not remotely."

Rudy: "So, how does it work?"

Michelle: "Well, to get the full effect you have to visit the temple
near dusk. And as the sun goes down, it's like a mirage. The temple
disappears for a moment and then it re-emerges from the surrounding
desert sands bathed in computer-generated shades of blue, red and
yellow that were worn away by centuries of sandstorms."

Rudy: "David Copperfield in on this one?"

Michelle: "No, but here's the really cool part. See, there are four
statues of Ramses flanking the front door of the temple. There are
two on each side. Well, the statue to the left of the entrance lost
its head during a bad earthquake and now the people putting on this
show are using sound and light effects to re-enact the fall of this
massive statue's head. The statue, by the way, is 65 feet tall."

Rudy: "So Ramses had a big head, huh?"

Michelle: "Apparently, so the idea is that the show is supposed to
return the temple and its statues to their original glory back during
Ramses rule from 1304 to 1237 B.C."

Rudy: "We know the Egyptians spared no expense building those temples
in the first place. What's the price tag for this latest display?"

Michelle: "Well, it took 12 months and 19 million Egyptian pounds,
that's about $5.5 million, to put this together. But it's all in the
interest of tourism. The hope is that the daily crowds will go from
3,000 to about 9,000."

Rudy: "Now this area is sort of off the beaten path, isn't it? Couple
hundred miles away from Cairo?"

Michelle: "About 750 of them actually. That's why government
officials have really been hyping this. If it works, they plan to do
the same thing at other cultural sites around the country. And that's
this week's Culture Watch."